Theresa May has talked up the UK as a “confident, strong and dependable partner” after the Brexit vote at a United Nations event.

The Prime Minister said tonight that the UK “has always been an outward-facing, global partner at the heart of international efforts to secure peace and prosperity for all our people. And that is how we will remain.”

She added: “For when the British people voted to leave the EU, they did not vote to turn inwards or walk away from any of our partners in the world.

“Faced with challenges like migration, a desire for greater control of their country, and a mounting sense that globalisation is leaving working people behind, they demanded a politics that is more in touch with their concerns; and bold action to address them.

“But that action must be more global, not less. Because the biggest threats to our prosperity and security do not recognise or respect international borders. And if we only focus on what we do at home, the job is barely half done.”